


museum love

by cpunkc



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Dinosaurs, F/M, Haikyuu - Freeform, Kei - Freeform, Love, Museums, tradgedy, tsukishima - Freeform, tsukishima kei - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27037588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cpunkc/pseuds/cpunkc
Summary: Tsukishima sees the same girl, at the same time everyday and is curious why.





	museum love

Every single day at 2:40 pm, a girl with medium black hair stands near the Supersaurus exhibit. I can never get a good look at her face as I go on with my tour group, but I imagine she is admiring the display. Does she look at the other exhibits as well? Who does she come with? Why is she always at that specific display? Pointless questions pop into my mind, which I quickly dismiss and continue working. But on this particular day, she is nowhere to be seen. Admittedly, I checked her usual spot and noticed that it was empty. Where is she today? Shrugging the thoughts away, I turn towards my current tour group.

“Now then, the display in front of you is none other than the Super-” I am cut off by a soft voice.

“The Supersaurus. It is a herbivore and is known for its vertebrae, also known as the neck bones.” The voice concludes. Turning my head, the black haired girl is standing inside the group of tourists. I blink my eyes and nod slightly.

“Yes, that is correct. We will be moving onto the next exhibit now.” I usher the now quieter group into the next room. I glance back once again to find the girl is no longer inside the group of people. Sighing, I continue with the repetitive tour.

“I’m telling you, I didn’t see a girl with black hair enter the museum today! Check the security cameras if you want. But I’m telling you the truth dude, no one like her has come in.” My coworker, Gin, says before spinning in his swivel chair. He is head of security here at the Sendai City Museum. After all of my tours for the evening finished, I headed straight for his office to figure out just who that mystery girl is.

“The timestamp is right before 2:40 at the Supersaurus exhibit. I just need to know if she was standing there today.” I request while staring at one of the many screens on the wall. He groans and rewinds the tapes to that time. I scan through the crowds of people, but the girl is nowhere to be found.

“See? I told you she wasn’t there.” Gin pouts as I stand up and fix my tie.

“Whatever. I’m going home now. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I grab my bag and half-wave to Gin before leaving the security office. I yawn and check the time. 10:38. I take my time heading to the front of the museum, and walk through each exhibit. I never have time to walk through and admire all of the work. Between working and hanging out with old friends, I don’t have the time for it. Well, I have free time, but I’d much rather spend it on staying at home and doing house work. Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly realize I’m standing in front of the Supersaurus display. The bones cast a shadow on my face as they hang above me.

“You shouldn’t stand too close. I heard there was an accident here once.” I jump at the sudden voice. I whip my head around to meet the girl with black hair. She’s wearing a tank top and shorts.

“Isn’t it too cold to be wearing shorts and a tank top? Besides that, how are you still in here? We closed forty minutes ago. You shouldn’t be here.” I question her before pointing to the front exit.

“Mai. That is my name.” She says softly before turning away from me.

“Kei! Tsukishima Kei.” I blurt out without thinking. She stops for a second, and smiles at me.

“Nice to finally meet you Kei.” She says before opening the door and walking out.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s just another day at work. Another boring old day of teaching people about dinosaurs. So why am I nervous? I splash cold water onto my face before putting my glasses on. Once I finish dressing, I grab a cup of coffee to go and head out to work. Taking the train in the morning lets me gather my thoughts for the day. I sit in an empty seat next to the door and close my eyes.

“Mai. So that’s her name huh?” A small smile creeps on my face. The museum is seen off into the distance, which is my cue to stand up. As the doors close behind me, I suddenly feel myself grow tired. I just need to survive until two forty. I walk into the break room where I set my stuff up for the day. My fellow tour guide Ayumi is sitting on one of the lounge chairs off to the side.

“Already lazing around Ay? I thought you were going to put more effort into your job?” I snicker as she frowns. A piece of paper is thrown my way.

“Oh shut your trap Tsukishima! I am putting more effort into my job, I’m just taking a small break at the moment.” She sticks her tongue out at me and I roll my eyes.

“Hey Ay, since you aren’t doing anything later, can you take over my afternoon tours? I’ll do the morning ones instead.” I ask her. Ayumi sits straight up and thinks to herself.

“Well since you asked so nicely, which is a shocker, sure! Is there any particular reason you want to switch today?” She asks innocently. Internally I am yelling at her, but I know she is genuinely curious.

“I have a friend I wanted to talk to.” I answer simply. Ayumi nods and stands up before leaving to who knows where. I finish my cup of coffee and leave for the morning tours.

2:30 rolls around and I catch up with Ayumi.

“I got it from here Tsukishima. Go have fun with your friend, okay?” She pats my shoulder and walks towards the center of the museum. I chuckle and head towards her spot. I see a familiar head and stand next to it.

“I didn’t realize how tiny you actually were. What are you, like four feet tall?” I laugh at Mai as she jumps slightly due to the sudden presence.

“I’ll have you know, I’m five feet and three inches thank you very much, Mr. Beanpole.” She giggles to herself as she nudges my arm a bit. I stifle a smile and stare at the display with her.

“This is my favorite display.” Mai says plainly. I nod.

“I figured that. The fact you are here at the same display at the same time everyday doesn’t give me that conclusion at all.” I hear her huff in annoyance.

“Well at least I don’t stare at people everyday unlike you.” I blush at this. I just told her I look at her everyday unintentionally.

“You know what I meant. Dumbass.” I grunt. She looks at me and busts out laughing. I look around to see if anyone is disturbed by how loud she’s laughing but nobody seems to care.

“You’re being loud, you know? Let’s go outside to the benches. It’ll be more open and we can talk freely.” I say before turning away from the Supersaurus. She nods and follows behind. I grab a scarf and head outside. We both sit on the bench.

“So how long have you been working here Kei?” Mai asks. I look up at the sky. Clouds float by slowly.

“Just over two years. After college I decided I wanted to do something related to my favorite thing in the world, dinosaurs. It’s a bit silly, but I enjoy being around all of the historical creatures.” I smile, thinking about my first day in the museum.

“When I first started, they had to physically remove me from the building because I was looking through every exhibit.” Mai laughs.

“That seems like something you’d do.” She says before looking at me. I frown slightly.

“What do you mean?” She raises her eyebrows.

“I meant that you seem like the type of person to take their time looking at everything inside the museum.” She continues.

“I know I am. I have a bad habit of just standing still while in deep thought. You’ve probably noticed.” She blushes and I chuckle.

“It’s all good. Everyone does it sometime in their life. So why do you come everyday? Don’t you have work to do or people to hang out with?”

“Not really, I do my work in the early morning and then head over to the museum in the afternoon.” The wind picks up and I notice she’s wearing shorts and a tank top again.

“I told you it was colder out. Why are you wearing clothes made for summer? Here take this.” I scold her as I hand her my scarf. She stares at it before wrapping it around her neck.

“Thank you Kei.” She blushes. I blush and turn my head away.

“No problem, just make sure not to lose it.” She nods and smiles. I smile and stand up.

“Want to go get something to eat? I know I’m hungry.” I ask her. She shakes her head.

“I’m all good. You go on and have a nice rest of your day. I’m gonna check out the museum some more before closing. See you later Kei!” She says before rushing off towards the entrance. I sigh and walk to the nearest convenient store. I grab a pork bun and a water bottle before walking to the station. Finally entering my apartment, I grab my phone and notice an unknown number had texted me. I open it up.

“Hey Kei! It’s Mai! I won’t tell you how I got your number but I got it!”

I grin and reply, scarfing down my pork bun.

“Hi Mai. That’s not suspicious at all. I wonder what else you know about me. Should I be afraid of you?” She replies instantly.

“Of course not! Do not worry, I won’t hurt you… too badly.”

I roll my eyes.

“Whatever you say dumbass. I’m heading to bed, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?”

“See you tomorrow Kei! Also thanks again for the scarf!”

“You’re welcome.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the course of 7 whole months, Mai and I have gotten closer. And I’ll admit it, I might love her. Her personality is completely different than mine, but it doesn’t bother me at all. She is an open book while I like to keep to myself the majority of the time. But these past few weeks I’ve noticed how beautiful she actually was. She has soft black hair, bright blue eyes, and a smile that would make anyone instantly happy. She’s also super clumsy. No matter how many times I tell her to change her clothes, she continues wearing shorts and a tank top. She says she likes to be cold and besides, she has my scarf to keep her warm. I just tell her to stay warm at night so she doesn’t catch a cold.

We’re chatting by the vending machines when Ayumi starts to walk over. Mai suddenly tugs on my sleeve.

“Kei, I need your help with something. Come with me real quic-” Ayumi cuts her off.

“What is up Tsukishima?! Enjoying your afternoons with your friend? When can I meet them?” Ayumi asks while inserting a few coins and hitting a button. I smile and point to Mai.

“I am thank you, she’s right here. This is Mai.” Ayumi smiles and looks up. She then looks behind me and then herself.

“Oh that's funny Tsukishima. Did she run to the bathroom just now?.” She tilts her head slightly. I frown and stare at Mai.

“She’s standing right next to me.” Mai’s face drops.

"Um, Tsukishima, are you feeling okay? Are you sick? There's no one beside you." Ayumi asks before Mai runs off.

“Mai, wait a second!” I call out to her before turning towards Ayumi, who is staring at me in confusion.

“That wasn’t funny Ayumi.” I say before chasing after Mai. Ayumi frowns.

“But I wasn’t being funny.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Mai! Stop running please!” I catch up to her. She is leaning against the Supersaurus display.

“Kei, don’t. Just stop. Please.” She mumbles while looking at the ground. I shake my head.

“What do you mean stop? I haven’t done anything. What’s wrong? If it's Ay, I can ask her to apologize to you.” I plea. Mai only stays silent. I see a few tears hit the floor.

“Kei, I’m not who you think I am.” My heart races.

“Mai, what do you mean by that?” She rubs her eyes before looking up at me.

“Mirai, actually. 2 and a half years ago, I was visiting the Sendai City Museum before heading home. I had always been interested in dinosaurs and decided one afternoon that I would apply to work at the local museum. At 2:40, about ten minutes before my interview, I was admiring my favorite dinosaur, the Supersaurus, when suddenly a wire that was holding the vertebrae snapped. Before I knew what happened, I was instantly crushed underneath the heavy bones. My accidental death wasn’t made public as it would cause bad rep for the museum. Ever since then, I’ve been stuck here in this museum. The only thing that kept me from going crazy was this display.” She points up to the dinosaur.

“That was until I met you, Kei. Ever since I met you that day during the tour, I have never felt more happy. Complete, even. It’s funny, really. You have been the only person to ever see me after my accident. I was just a ghost living in the real world. Stuck with nobody to talk to forever. But when I saw you looking at me everyday, I figured it would be fun to see what would happen if I peaked your interest, but I didn’t think we’d get this far.” I stand there speechless. She notices my lack of words.

“I know, I know. You must have a lot of questions, and maybe angry words for me. But please, just know that I never meant to drag you into all of this. I never knew what this feeling was inside me was, but I know what it is. It’s love. I know we’ve only known each other for a few months, but this feeling is so strong that I had to let you know. Tsukishima Kei, I love you. And I hope you can forgive me.” As she says the last few words, the sound of wires can be heard snapping. Before I can look up at it, I feel myself being tackled to the ground.

“Tsukishima, are you okay? You could have died!” Ayumi yells at me. I stare at her wide eyed before looking back at where Mai was.

"Where is she?!" I yell out while searching for the familiar dark hair.

On the ground was the familiar dinosaur's vertebrae, and beneath it all was my scarf.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I skip through the confidential newspaper frantically. Where is it? I scan through it until her name catches my eye. Mirai. I read the beginning of the article titled, ‘Tragedy in SCM’.

“20 year old Mirai Sato, tragically killed by falling dinosaur display in the summer of 2017. Witnesses say a woman with black hair, wearing a tank top and shorts, was admiring the Supersaurus exhibit, the wires holding up the neck bones malfunctioned and snapped. Because the 20 year old has no living relatives, reporters have been asked/paid to keep the accident a secret. The museum paid the cost for her burial and the cost to repair the damaged exhibit.”

"You dumbass... I love you too."


End file.
